Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler

Overview

In 1502 Moctezuma II was elected ruler of the Aztecs (or Mexica, as they are more correctly known). From his awe-inspiring capital Tenochtitlan (the site of modern-day Mexico City), this semi-divine figure presided over a vast a politically complex empire extending from the Gulf Coast to the Pacific Ocean. All this was to come to a dramatic end in 1519, when Moctezuma and the Mexica came fact to face with another aggressive, expansionist society - the Spanish, led by Hernán Cortés. Produced to accompany the fourth in a series of exhibitions on great rulers, this film reassesses the life, death and legacy of the once-mighty warrior-king Moctezuma.